Transgendered woman sues LSI

Janis Stacy knew her transformation from a man to a woman would be difficult for some of her coworkers to understand.

That's why the former product engineer at Agere Systems met in February 2005 with colleagues who knew her as Jim to explain why she had chosen to change her appearance.

Those meetings marked the start of a pattern of discrimination by the company, Stacy alleges in a federal lawsuit. In January 2008, after she had completed her gender transition, Stacy was singled out to be laid off, the lawsuit says.

When Stacy, 53, of Kunkletown, asked why she was being let go after 10 years with the semiconductor maker, she was told it was to allow her to break free from her negative history with the company, the suit says. The news surprised Stacy, who had been praised, promoted and received raises during her tenure.

California-based LSI Corp. bought Agere in 2007 and operates its facilities in Allentown and Hanover Township, Lehigh County. Both companies are named as defendants in the suit filed last September. LSI and Agere deny Stacy's allegations.

Pittsburgh attorney Robert W. Cameron, who represents the companies, declined to comment on the case. Advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities say Stacy's experience is typical of the struggles people who undergo gender reassignment face. It also highlights limitations in the laws designed to protect people from discrimination.

"People are astounded to find out that it is still legal in the majority of Pennsylvania to fire someone or evict them from their apartment on the basis of their sexual expression or gender identity," said Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, a group that works for equal rights in the gay community.

Liz Bradbury, executive director of the PA Diversity Network in Allentown, noted Stacy's case bears similarities to that of Dr. Gwen Greenberg, a podiatrist who settled a lawsuit in 2004 against St. Luke's Hospital alleging she was forced out of a teaching position she held for 13 years as Dr. Gary Greenberg because she is transgendered.

"This has nothing to do with this person's job. She has every capability that she had when she was a man," Bradbury said. "People who go through that sort of change in their lives do so for their essential mental health."

Gender identity disorder is when a person's psychological identification as a man or woman does not match their biological gender. The condition can cause mental distress and discomfort. Stacy was diagnosed with gender identity disorder in 2002, the suit says. She began treatment, including taking female hormones and presenting herself as a woman, but she concealed her transformation from her employer until 2005 when she was scheduled to have surgery to feminize her facial features, the lawsuit says.

Stacy, with help from Agere's human resources officer, made two presentations to her coworkers before she took leave to have the surgery. When she returned to work four weeks later, she went by the name Janis and dressed as a woman, the suit says.

With her change in appearance, Stacy's relationship with her supervisor faltered and her pay decreased, the lawsuit says. After Stacy had gender reassignment surgery in February 2006, she was transferred to a different work group.

Although her relationship with her new supervisor was better, Stacy was singled out among three other engineers in her group to be laid off less than a year later. Agere says Stacy's termination was part of the company's force management program. The company slashed its workforce by more than 75 percent between 2002 and 2010.

Stacy declined to be interviewed, but said through her attorney Scott Goldshaw of Philadelphia that she wishes her employer's reaction to her change had been different.

"I've hoped LSI would just say, 'We were wrong, let's work this out and get you back to work here,'" she said.

Stacy claims LSI violated the federal Civil Rights Act, Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and Allentown's anti-discrimination ordinance by discriminating against her on the basis of sex, disability and gender identity.

She also claims the company retaliated against her for filing claims with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Allentown Human Relations Commission by refusing to hire her for other jobs for which she was qualified.

U.S. District Judge Eduardo C. Robreno this month cleared the way for Stacy's suit to proceed, denying requests by LSI to have her discrimination claims under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act and the Allentown Human Relations Act dismissed because they don't apply to gender identity disorder.

LSI argued state and federal courts have ruled gender identity disorder is not a disability under the Pennsylvania Human Relations Act. Stacy argued the cases LSI pointed to had been wrongly decided.

LSI also noted the definition of "handicap or disability" in the Pennsylvania law is similar to that of the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which does not recognize gender identity disorder as a disability.

In an unusual move, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission weighed in on the case, arguing that while the Pennsylvania Legislature followed the ADA by noting certain conditions that should not be treated as disabilities, such as addiction and use of controlled substances, it specifically chose not to exclude gender identity disorder. Commission attorney Michael Hardiman said it stepped in because the outcome might have affected the agency's ability to enforce the law. He said Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination law requires the commission to consider whether a condition meets the definition of a disability by limiting a person's "major life activities" on a case-by-case basis.

LSI also argued Stacy is not entitled to protection under Allentown's anti-discrimination law because although she worked in the city until 2002, she was assigned to LSI's building on American Parkway in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, when she was laid off. The city law cannot be enforced outside the city limits, LSI argued.

Robreno said he needs more information to determine whether the city law could apply to Stacy's case.

Bradbury, of the PA Diversity Network, said the question demonstrates the need for a statewide ban on discrimination on the basis of sex or gender identity.

Eighteen municipalities in Pennsylvania have adopted broad anti-discrimination ordinances like Allentown's that include gender identity. People who live or work outside those communities, including Hanover Township, are not protected against such discrimination, Bradbury said.

Stacy's attorney, Goldshaw, said that even though Stacy's desk was outside the city limits, there was a significant portion of her work that took place in the city and the anti-discrimination ordinance should apply.

"It's an argument based on geography," Goldshaw said. "I don't think I have ever seen another case where geography is an issue. Everybody agrees that second location of work was in Allentown, and we say that's good enough."